Fluid distribution system



1962 A. T. CHAPMAN FLUID DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 8, 1961 c7. ramp/270w Dec. 4, 1962 A. T. CHAPMAN 3,066,697

FLUID DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Filed Feb. 8, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 'TT R EQ Dec. 4, 1962 A. T. CHAPMAN 3,066,697

FLUID DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Filed Feb. 8, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5L 6 I .Z/Z/VEN'T'UQ 7 m. TUHQPmn/v "r a r:

rates area Patented Dec. 4, 1962 3,066,697 FLUED DISTRIBUTIGN SiYS'lEM Alan T. Chapman, North @aldwell, Ni, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, a carporation of 2 and 3, includes a fluid distribution system 51 for controlling the positioning ofrod 52 within the cylinder 53. The distribution system includes four discs 54, 55, 56 and 57, of which, discs 54, S6 and 57 are fixed and disc 55 is New York 5 rotatable by means of the servomotor 58. It will be ob- Filefl 1951 37,396 served that disc 55 is fixed to the shaft 59 by means of 16 Claims 137-424) the pin -61. The servomotor 58 is operated in response This invention relates to a fluid distribution system and zi gg i g' g igi gfi 5 13 35 i g j gig gg g particularly dlgltallzed .hsmbutor for i medla' l and a digitalato-analog converter for controlling the In pneumatic or hydraulic systems, definite pressures Servomotor 53 or volumes are required to obtaincertain desired effects Disc conaprises two cuncentric channebshamd rings such, as a predetermined translatlonal m9vement of a 63 and 6d, the outer ring 63 providing a source of fluid R or the attainment 9 a i i cqmpiey under pressure received over line 67 while the inner ring slon m a coilfinfgd space It IS espfclahy difslrable m Vlew 64 provides a fluid return chamber which enables the f me continumg trend toward me adop H.011 of automa' fluid to return via line 68 to storage conveniently, but not tion to obtain such results in accordance with a computer necessarily at atmospheric pressum arrangement for i by :I of puilched m or Disc 55 is a rotatable fluid distributor and as shown perforated tapes containing digital coded lllfOl'Il'lZlllOi'hOl in FIGS 1 and 3 is solid except f the L-shaped openi p by of a Selector mechamsm pmvldmg ings 71 and 72. Opening 71 leads to the inner ring 64 Smnlar niformanon of disc 54land the diametrically opposite opening 72 leads An ObjClI of the present invention is a fluid distribution to the Outer ring 63 of disc 54 system for distributing fluid in response to information Coded disc s includes an Butnr ring Section 77 and an avallable m dlgltal q inner ring section Sit. Coded openings or channels 0-1 of the mvfantlon lelates a dmnbutor. g to @454 provided in the ring sections, have diameters ara fl i niedla for i i t membfir to f'q i i ranged in accordance with a digital code, the openings positions in accordance with information provided in digibeing Selectively opfined and closed y the lower face of tal form distributor 55 as viewed in FIG. 1. Thirty-six positions Another aspect of the invention relates LO controlling on disc 56 have been shown in FIG 2 for Convenience in the fluid Input and Output of a mud dlsinbutmpsyitem. In description. While in some instances, two coded openings such a manner as to assure accuracy in the distribution of dififirent diameter am Shown in one g Section at a ofthe fluid.

. iven osition to em hasize the di ital code sin le 0 en- Adamonany the prent.d1glta1 fimd dlstnbuuon Sysi n s 0 f predetermine zl diameter wiuld be siifiici ent. On tam may allow for the mermaof the m Such fthe other hand if desired three or more openings could mass of moving parts, to attain accuracy in the positionbe used at various positiohs ing of a member. t

In carrying out the invention, fluid from a source is f f gi g g g f gg ig i gg i ggfigig ggj passed through a distributor system including a series of cylinder and the inner g 33 leads to the exhaust 87 inlet ports and preferably a series of outlet ports arrange d of the cylinder 53 in coded form to allowpredeteninned amounts of fiuld In operation, on information received from the control to be conveyed a deslred L a d 62, servomotor 58 will rotate shaft 59 to bring openings In one a Nor pom-10mm 1C] m er 1S 71 and 72 of the distributor into line with any one of a controlled by digitalized amounts of fluid supplied through Series of positions 1 to 36 Shown in H G 2 In the first Selected OMS of a plurahty i channel? or Operimgs re position opening 71 will be brought into line with openlated to each other on a decimal or binary basis. The inc {L1 p g 72 into line with 049. At this time channel selection may be effected by means of an asseinp z drives fluid from Source 67 through Outer g bly of disclike members, one of wh ch may be rotated to 63 of disc s4 through w g (L1 through distributor bring desired channels into registration for predetermined p g i g outer g 82 ofdisc 57 to the intake [times to pass gem-me am-Ounts of fimd from a -source to 86 to drive cylinder rod 52 to a predetermined position. the work positioning cylinder to move the cylinder rod Fluid returns from the exhaust 87 through inner Tina 83 k r.- r a: i a piedeiermmud posltloni An exhaust -arrangemerit of disc 57 through opening (L19 through distributor openis provided to return the fluid from the cylinder after it g 71 through the inner g 64 of disc 54 to the return has served its purpose.

- a 68. At POSlLlOIlS 2 and 20 of distributor there are The mvem-lon be bettv'r imderstood P refer-ems no coded openings, and hence no motion of thdpiston rod to the following detailed description and to tue drawings, 55 52 Further rotation of distributor 55 places its p g wherein: L

- c '72 in line with opening 6-3 and its opening 71 in line 1 1S a sejcflonal VIVW 9f the flmd d-lstnbunon With opening $21. This movement enables pressure to tent, together with a schematic representation of a servobe pp from the Outer g 63 through p g 72 l i a r i o f i c gi sc used in the present through Opening through inner ring 83; to exhaust J a n to return the piston to the original position. Surplus application;

FIG. 3 is an end view of a distributor disc used in the gg zig g ig gfi g gfggg openmg presentinvenfion; Tlie diameter of outlet o 0 19 i h 1' hi pening -iss ownsigty 3' $2 1? 2 5 2 gigg mlon Show mg a smaller than the diameter of the inlet opening 0-1 to a F ll t g is a fra ment view showing the cmssover degree dependent on the inertia of the moving parts, e.g., of cod'ed 0 wings thealgodification. it may take into consideration a slight overshooting of the FIG 6 s a g taken along the i of FIG desired piston rod position. The diameter of opening 0-3 and slightly exceeds that of opening 04 to assure that the FIG. 7 shows a modification of a distributor device Piston Win Tatum to the p Openlng (P21 15 made for use with the coded disc shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. One embodiment of the invention as shown in FIGS. 1,

larger than opening 03 to eliminate any back pressure. While the operation at only a few positions has been described, it is obvious that the operation will be the same at corresponding positions.

The purpose of the larger return position openings 04-0-21; 5-024; 6-9-0-27; etc., is to preclude any false positioning of the cylinder rod, when the distributor disc is operated at relatively high speeds between positions. For example, if the distributor starts from position 36 and it is desired to rotate the distributor five positions forward to position 13, fractional amounts of fluid would pass through the system at positions 1, 4, 7 and 10, at the respective openings 5-1, 9 d l and (L10, if the intermediate return position openings il -3- (L21, etc., were not provided. It is proper to consider these return positions as lending accuracy to the system at the cost of useful space on the coded disc 56.

In practice, disc space could be conserved by having the input and output portions of the distributor cover only single ring portions of the coded disc and reversals of the piston rod could be obtained by crossing holes in the coded disc. In this case, distributor 55 includes the openings 71 and 72'. Opening li1', equivalent to 1, remains as previously described but, as shown in FIG. 4, opening 049 of disc 56 would be brought adjacent to opening 0-1'. Position 2, of course, would not be affected. Opening tl-3 would enter the control disc in the outer ring portion but leave through the inner ring portion and vice versa for opening tl21, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Corresponding openings at other positions would be arranged in a similar manner.

In a preferred mode of operation, position 36 may be considered as the home position of the distributor, the control apparatus directing the distributor to return to the home position after it has been moved to one of the operating positions. The necessary information could be provided, for example, on a punched card or tape.

Various changes may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A fluid distribution system comprising a fluid source, a fluid. outlet, a coded member having a series of nonidentically sized openings arranged therein in a predetermined manner, said opening sizes and the manner of arrangement thereof being determined in accordance with the amounts of fluid to be passed through the respective openings, a distributor having at least one passageway, means to eflect relative movement between the coded member and. the distributor to bring the passageway into alignment with one or more openings to pass a predetermined amount of fluid from the fluid source through the aligned opening or openings and the passageway to the fluid outlet.

2. A fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the coded member is a disc, and the disttributor is a disc contiguous with the coded disc.

3. A fluid distribution system according to claim 2, including an inlet disc at one side of the rotary member, and an outlet disc at one side of the coded member, each having at least one fluid path.

4. A fluid distribution system according to claim 3, wherein the inlet and outlet discs each comprise a pair of concentric. ring sections, one ring section supplying fluid through the distributor in one direction, the other ring section receiving fluid from the distributor in the opposite direction, and the coded disc being provided with at least a pair of openings at each of a series of positions about the disc.

5. A fluid distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the openings of a pair are at diametrically opposite positions on the coded disc.

6. A fluid distribution system according to claim 5, wherein one opening of a pair in at least one position is smaller than the other opening in the same position to allow for the inertia of moving parts.

7. A fluid distribution system according to claim 4, wherein there are two sets of openings on the disc, one set of openings representing operate positions and the other set of openings representing return positions, the operate openings and the return openings being alternately arranged about the coded disc member.

8. A fluid distribution system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the diameter of the openings in the return positions exceeds the diameter of the openings in the operate positions.

97 A fluid distribution system according to claim 7, wherein an opening in a return position is larger than another opening in the same return position to eliminate any back pressure.

10. A fluid distribution system according to claim 7, wherein the openings of the coded disc are at inner and outer positions and there are a pair of coded openings in each return position, in a given position the passageway of the distributor crossing over from the outer ring section of the inlet disc to the opening in an inner position, and the other passageway crossing over from an inner ring section of the inlet disc to the opening in the outer position.

11. A fluid distributor according to claim 2, including a motor for eflfecting relative movement between the discs by driving one of the discs to a preselected position, and control apparatus for controlling the operation of said motor.

12. A fluid distribution system comprising in successive contiguous relation an inlet disc, a disc distributor, a coded disc, and an outlet disc, the inlet disc comprising two concentric hollow ring sections, one ring section being connected to a source and the other ring section being connected to a fluid return, the distributor disc being rotatable and including two passageways, one for one ring section and the other for the other ring section, the coded disc including a series of openings arranged at different positions about the disc, there being at least a pair of openings for each position, one opening of a pair passing fluid in one direction from the distributor disc and the other opening passing fluid in the opposite direction to the distributor disc, and the outlet disc comprising two concentric hollow ring sections, one leading to a fluid intake and the other leading to a fluid exhaust.

13. A fluid distribution system according to claim 12, including a piston cylinder operatively connected to the intake and exhaust.

14. A fluid distribution system according to claim 12,

including a servomotor for driving the distributor to a predetermined position.

15. A fluid distribution system according to claim 2, wherein the distributor disc includes a pair of L-shaped openings, one opening being coupled to the outer hollow ring section of the inlet disc, and the other opening being coupled to the inner hollow ring section of the inlet disc.

16. A fluid distribution system according to claim 12, wherein the openings of the coded disc are at inner and outer positions, and there are a pair of openings, in a given position one passageway of the distributor extending between the outer ring section of the inlet disc and the outer opening, and the other passageway extending between the inner ring section of the inlet disc and the inner opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,524,234 Schenk Oct. 3, 1950 2,879,797 Guardaldi Mar. 31, 1959 2,960,073 Roxburgh Nov. 15, 1960 2,989,080 Dillberg June 20, 1961 3,097,494 Herze Nov. 7, 1961 3,014,489 Lamp et al. Dec. 26, 1961 

